Prevalence and factors associated with compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among Chinese oncology healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional survey

Professional quality of life and job satisfaction among nurses working at tertiary hospitals in central Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Professional quality of life is a crucial aspect of healthcare professionals' well-being and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction, on the other hand, encompasses fulfillment of desired needs within the work environment, happiness or gratifying emotional response towards working conditions, and job values or equity. Existing literature tends to address job satisfaction and professional quality of life separately, overlooking their interconnectedness, especially within the unique context of Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess nurses' professional quality of life and job satisfaction.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1-30 2023 among 420 nurses using a structured questionnaire. The study participants were recruited by simple random sampling. Multiple linear regressions were used to identify factors associated with outcome variables.

RESULTS

The study involved 420 nurses, with 407 completing the questionnaire, yielding a 96.68% response rate. The findings revealed varying levels of professional quality of life. Specifically, 258 participants (63.4%) exhibited low compassion satisfaction, while 271 (66.6%) and 266 (65.4%) experienced average levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress, respectively. Job satisfaction was moderate to high for 55% of the participants. As the finding of this study indicates, there is a positive correlation between compassion satisfaction and job satisfaction in nursing. The study also identified predictors for job satisfaction, compassion satisfaction, and compassion fatigue, such as marital status, education, and experience.

CONCLUSION

The majority of participants reported a medium level of compassion satisfaction, with a significant proportion experiencing moderate to high levels of compassion fatigue. Although more than half of the participants had moderate to high job satisfaction, there were still low levels of satisfaction. The study recommends developing targeted training programs, implementing workplace policies, and designing initiatives to enhance education, experience, and compassion satisfaction.

Risk factors and a nomogram for predicting cognitive frailty in Chinese patients with lung cancer receiving drug therapy: A single-center cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

To identify independent factors of cognitive frailty (CF) and construct a nomogram to predict cognitive frailty risk in patients with lung cancer receiving drug therapy.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients with lung cancer undergoing drug therapy from October 2022 to July 2023 were enrolled. The data collected includes general demographic characteristics, clinical data characteristics and assessment of tools for cognitive frailty and other factors. Logistic regression was harnessed to determine the influencing factors, R software was used to establish a nomogram model to predict the risk of cognitive frailty. The enhanced bootstrap method was employed for internal verification of the model. The performance of the nomogram was evaluated by using calibration curves, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and decision curve analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 372 patients were recruited, with a cognitive frailty prevalence of 56.2%. Age, education background, diabetes mellitus, insomnia, sarcopenia, and nutrition status were identified as independent factors. Then, a nomogram model was constructed and patients were classified into high- and low-risk groups with a cutoff value of 0.552. The internal validation results revealed good concordance, calibration and discrimination. The decision curve analysis presented prominent clinical utility.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of cognitive frailty was higher in lung cancer patients receiving drug therapy. The nomogram could identify the risk of cognitive frailty intuitively and simply in patients with lung cancer, so as to provide references for early screening and intervention for cognitive frailty at the early phases of drug treatment.

Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Program Effects on Oncology-Hematology Nurses' Professional Quality of Life, Stress Levels, and Patients' Care Satisfaction: Nurse, Nurse Manager, and Patient Perspectives, a Mixed-Methods Study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Program applied to oncology-hematology nurses on the professional quality of life and stress levels of nurses, on the satisfaction of cancer patients, and on the perspectives of nurse managers.

DATA SOURCES

An experimental embedded mixed-methods design was conducted between December 20, 2022, and February 20, 2023. The study included 15 oncology-hematology nurses, 19 cancer patients, and 6 nurse managers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with patients and pre-tests were applied to patients and nurses. The Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Program was implemented for the nurses. Then qualitative interviews were repeated with the same patients; focus group interviews were conducted with the nurse managers; post-tests were applied to patients and nurses who participated in the training; and narrative feedback was collected. Quantitative data analysis was carried out using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Qualitative data were processed using an inductive approach to thematic analysis.

CONCLUSION

Compassion satisfaction decreased after the Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Program. Qualitative results showed that the training program improved nurses' effective communication skills and ability to cope with stress. The program improved nurses' approach to patients and communication, and patients' care satisfaction levels increased.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

The Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Program should be included in hospital in-service training programs and implemented and sustained. With this, compassion fatigue of nurses can be reduced or prevented, which will help to avoid the nurse shortages that already existing and increasing.

Compassion Fatigue in Nurses Providing Palliative Cancer Care and Coping Strategies to Prevent and Manage it

OBJECTIVES

End-of-life care for cancer patients is one of the most challenging experiences encountered by nurses. Cancer nurses providing end-of-life care may experience compassion fatigue due to prolonged exposure to the suffering and intense emotional reactions of patients, death and the dying, and grieving families. However, the development of resilience and effective coping skills can decrease nurse turnover rates and increase the quality of palliative cancer care. This article discusses the concept of compassion fatigue, how it develops, compassion fatigue experienced by nurses providing palliative cancer care, and the Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Program (CFRP) coping method.

DATA SOURCES

Author experience and journal articles were used.

CONCLUSION

Compassion fatigue can occur from secondary traumatic stress and burnout after nurses' prolonged and intense exposure to helping suffering patients, resulting in decreased ability to care, expend energy, or exhibit empathy and compassion. The CFRP is a structured, comprehensive training program designed to educate nurses about compassion fatigue and enable them to develop a support network, strengthen their coping skills, and improve resilience.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

It is recommended that the CFRP be included in in-service training in institutions and be applied to oncology nurses at regular intervals in a block program format (1-2 days). Newly recruited oncology nurses in particular should be supported with such training in orientation programs. Institutional managers play an important role in organizing such programs and screening for the risk of compassion fatigue in nurses who provide end-of-life care.

Prevalence of compassion fatigue, burnout, compassion satisfaction, and associated factors among nurses working in cancer treatment centers in Ethiopia, 2020

BACKGROUND

Overuse of compassion for those under the care may threaten their professional life. In Ethiopia, there is limited study on the consequences of compassionate care. Therefore, the study assessed the effects of compassionate care among nurses.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the prevalence of compassion satisfaction, burnout, compassion fatigue, and associated factors among Nurses.

METHODS

Institution-based quantitative cross-sectional design was conducted in five randomly selected public hospitals in Ethiopia, from May to April 2020. All the nurses who were working in the cancer treatment centers of the five hospitals were included in the study. Data were collected using a standard self-administer structured question using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL) instrument version 5. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS 21version. Descriptively: frequency, mean, standard deviation, and inferential statistics: t-Test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple linear regression analysis were computed.

RESULT

The majority of respondents 154 (67.0%) were female. The age of the participants ranges from 20 to 65 (32.06 + 7.45) years. The mean (SD) scores for the dimensions of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue were 34.41 (6.74), 27.70 (4.24), and 35.83 (7.78) respectively. Neuroticism personality trait had positivity related to compassion fatigue (P = 0.001). Nurses who received low monthly income had significantly lower scores for compassion fatigue (P = 0.002). We found friend support, openness, sex, and agreeableness explained 32.7% (p < 0.024) of the variances in compassion satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

In general the study found high compassion fatigue and low compassion satisfaction. Further, having low income and neuroticism personality were related to compassion fatigue, while agreeableness, consciousness, and openness personality were related to compassion satisfaction. Therefore, attention should be given to nurses working in cancer centers to ensure positive energy.

Correlation between professional quality of life and alarm fatigue symptoms among intensive care unit nurses

Introduction

Medical devices and equipment are necessary for accurate and continuous monitoring of the patients admitted to intensive care units, one of which is alarm systems. Frequent sounds of alarms can affect nurses' concentration and accuracy when providing care. Complications such as headache, fatigue, and stress occur after repeated alarms, leading to poor quality of professional life among nurses. This study aimed to determine the relationship between quality of professional life and alarm fatigue syndrome among intensive care unit nurses.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used convenience sampling to select nurses working in intensive care units from three hospitals in southern Iran in 2021 (n = 201). Data were collected using three questionnaires, including sociodemographic form, the professional quality of life questionnaire (ProQOL), and the alarm fatigue symptom (AFS) scale.

Results

The mean scores of compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout, secondary traumatic stress (STS) (subscales of the ProQOL), and AFS were 34.66 ± 7.54, 28.98 ± 7.59, 27.69 ± 5.87, and 13.48 ± 7.32, respectively. The majority of them had no or mild AFS, moderate CS, burnout, and STS. Among the study variables, only AFS were a significant predictor of CS and STS among ICU nurses. In addition, work experience in ICU, AFS, and a second job were significant predictors of burnout among ICU nurses.

Conclusions

The study results showed a significant relationship between alarm fatigue syndrome, burnout, STS, and CS. Given that more than half of the nurses in the intensive care unit in the present study experienced some degree of alarm fatigue syndrome, it is necessary to plan and implement interventions to better manage the alarms in the intensive care unit.

How Workplace Challenges Affect the Risk of Substance Use Disorders in a Health Care Environment

Health care environments have historically faced stressful situations that place those working in those environments at risk for substance use disorders. Over the past several years, the rates of burnout, workplace violence, diverse population stigmatization, and mental health concerns (including suicide) during the Covid-19 pandemic have increased, further challenging and contributing to development of negative coping skills, including use of substances to reduce the side effects and emotions from work. This article introduces the problem of substance use disorders, pathophysiology, and how the challenges contribute to the development of turning to substances to cope.

Assessment of Compassion Fatigue and Empathy Levels in Nurses During the COVID-19 Outbreak: Turkey's Case

This study was conducted to determine the compassion fatigue level of nurses and to review several variables believed to be associated with it; in addition, an assessment is made of empathy levels in the same group. This is a cross-sectional study conducted from December 2021 to May 2022 on nurses working at a city hospital linked to the Turkish Ministry of Health. The study group consisted of 616 nurses. A Personal Information Form, the Compassion Fatigue-Short Scale (CF-SS), and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy were used to collect data. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Student's t-test, One-Way Analysis of Variance, and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis were used for data analysis. The statistical significance value was accepted as p < 0.05. The study group consisted of 499 (81.0%) females and 117 (19.0%) males, and their ages ranged from 20 to 51, with a mean age of 29.2 ± 6.9 years. The scores obtained from the CF-SS ranged from 16 to 130, with a mean score of 70.96 ± 25.04. The level of compassion fatigue was found to be higher in participants with a low family income, those who work more than 40 h a week, those who chose their profession unwillingly, those who are not satisfied with their profession, and those with a history of contact with a COVID-19 patient (p < 0.05 for each group). There was a significant association between levels of compassion fatigue and empathy (r = 0.92; p = 0.220). The level of compassion fatigue was found to be moderate in the nurses observed. The factors affecting the level of compassion fatigue included gender, family income, reasons for choosing nursing as a profession, the number of patients given daily care by the nurses, satisfaction with their profession, and history of contact with a COVID-19 patient. More extensive studies focusing on the association between compassion fatigue and empathy in nurses are needed.

Comparison of Resilience Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemics: A Multinational Cross-Sectional Survey in Southeast Asian Jurisdictions

Objectives: To examine the level of resilience among the frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) in four different Southeast Asian jurisdictions and identify the potential factors that may enhance healthcare workers resilience. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was carried out among 3,048 eligible healthcare workers in Hong Kong, Nepal, Vietnam, and Taiwan from May 2021 to July 2022, and information on individual resilience, socio-demographic characteristics, organizational supports, and personal exposures were collected. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify the factors that were associated with a high resilience level. Results: The resilience score was the highest among healthcare workers of Vietnam, followed by Taiwan and Hong Kong, with Nepal scoring the lowest. Participants with old age, part-time work, higher education level, more satisfaction with workplace policy, better organizational supports, and fewer COVID-specific worries were associated with higher resilience. Healthcare workers who were satisfied with the overall organizational policy support had an OR of 1.48 (95% CI: 1.25-1.76) for a high resilience level. Conclusion: Implementing satisfying organizational policies and establishing supportive work environments for frontline healthcare workers can increase individual resilience and organizational stability.

Oncologists' Locus of Control, Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, and the Mediating Role of Helplessness

The oncology setting may give rise to significant feelings of helplessness among oncologists via patients' inevitable deaths or suffering. The current study examines whether and how oncologists' sense of control (locus of control; LOC) influences their compassion fatigue and satisfaction. Methods: Seventy-three oncologists completed the following questionnaires: the Professional Quality of Life scale; Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance scale; the Guilt Inventory, State Guilt subscale; and the Learned Helplessness scale. Results: Oncologists reported high levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout and moderate levels of compassion satisfaction. A positive association between oncologists' external LOC and compassion fatigue, and a negative association between oncologists' internal LOC and compassion fatigue, were found. Helplessness, but not guilt, had a mediating role in these associations. Internal LOC was also positively associated with compassion satisfaction. Conclusions: The current study highlights oncologists as a population at risk of experiencing compassion fatigue and emphasizes oncologists' locus of control as a predisposition that plays a role in the development of this phenomenon. Additionally, the cognitive as well as the emotional aspects of control were found to be important factors associated with compassion fatigue.